


The Agent, The Barista, The Hacker

by tessathetesla



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Hackers, Alternate Universe - Parents, Alternative Universe - FBI, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Baristas, Cybercrimes, Domestic Philinda, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Found Family, Gen, Inspired by White Collar, Marriage, Mentors, Minor Character Death, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Philinda - Freeform, Romance, Stakeout, Undercover, criminal informant, philindaisy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:41:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29122824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tessathetesla/pseuds/tessathetesla
Summary: [This is a sequel to my Cappuccino in the Clouds fic, but reading Cappuccino in the Clouds is not a requirement]This is set 15 years after Cappuccino in the Clouds. Melinda becomes an FBI agent for Cybercrimes and Phil is a National Ranked Barista, owning several coffee shops.May and Coulson come across a young hacker who needs a mentor more than a warden. Heavily inspired by the show "White Collar". While not a requirement for reading, those who are familiar with White Collar, will enjoy many nods to the show.
Relationships: Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie/Yo Yo Rodriguez, Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson & Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson/Melinda May, Phil Coulson/Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 58
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

Melinda May-Coulson, FBI Agent, Cybercrime unit.

Phillip J. May-Coulson, Nationally Ranked Barista and Cafe Owner

“Phil, what are you doing?” Melinda asked, looking over at his computer and seeing the text of their names and jobs in a document.

Phil blushed and took a sip of coffee. The two had moved into their own house just a couple years after they got married. It wasn’t big, as being an FBI agent and barista didn’t pay any big bucks. Especially in Los Angeles.

“Oh, I’m just writing up a little something. I want to start a coffee blog, apparently all the baristas are doing it these days. I’m writing an “About Me” page. I added you because of course you are co-owner of all the coffee shops.

Melinda grinned, “Alright. As long as you don’t post a photo of me. FBI likes to keep our photos off any social media, especially for undercover work.”

Phil, “you gotcha. I could use a fake name, if you want me to? Maybe Heidi?”

Melinda responded with a look, “Heidi?”

“Okay, maybe not Heidi. I’ll just take you off for now, just to be careful,” Phil deleted the text and grabbed his jacket. Melinda had taken charge of his wardrobe after they got married. He had so many worn Captain America shirts, that she eventually bought him a whole new set. Of course, she never got rid of the college sweatshirt that she had borrowed when they first dated. That was kept always nearby, especially when Melinda had to travel for missions. She would sleep with it, breathing in his “coffee musk.”

She looked at her husband, now sporting a grey bomber jacket, form-fitting V-neck shirt, straight fit jeans, and nice black Adidas boost tennis shoes. Those shoes were a recent gift for Phil’s birthday, after he complained about his feet hurting after spending long shifts at his cafe. Phil’s dark hair was kept cropped short, the receding hairline broadening. Being in his 40s, Phil felt a little less self-conscious about the hair, but Melinda assured him he still was the hot barista she met all those years ago. In fact, she felt like he was even better looking now then at age 26, when they had met. She’d finally convinced him to start working out on his off days, and he found a love for surfing and Ji-Jitsu.

Moving from New York to Los Angeles when she landed the Cybercrime job wasn’t easy, but Phil and Melinda had made it work. Phil had to sell his New York cafes and begin new ones in LA, but his reputation as a National Barista Champion had preceded him. People flocked to his cafe as soon as he opened, and the shop was always full.

Phil looked over at his wife before he grabbed his keys to head to his cafe. Melinda hadn’t aged a day in the 15 years they had been married. In fact, it almost seemed like she aged in reverse, like there was some weird voodoo magic going on. Melinda wore her black hair to her shoulder, usually tied back in a ponytail for work. She wore a pant suit to work, dark blue was her favorite, with a white striped shirt underneath. She always looked stunning no matter if she was wearing his college sweatshirt and yoga pants on the weekend, or dressed to the nines for an undercover mission.

Of course, things hadn’t always been easy in the fifteen years that Phil and Melinda had been married. Early in her career, when Melinda had been working violent crimes, she had gotten shot in the lower abdomen. While they believed she had made a full recovery, when they had decided to have children, the doctor had told her there was scar tissue on her uterus and would never be able to bore children.

Melinda was devastated, and it had taken therapy and Phil’s support to help her through. Somehow that news was worse than taking one in the gut. Melinda had always wanted children. Of course, Phil and Melinda discussed adoption, but things were complicated with Mel working in the FBI.

That drove Melinda to dive even harder into her work, and eventually she got a bad ACL tear from chasing a criminal that put her behind a desk for several months. This is how she ended up into Cybercrime. Between her gunshot wound and her knee, her boss told her the days of chasing violent criminals were over. They had some openings in Cybercrime. Which did involve field work, but typically hackers were known for their physical prowess.

Melinda was still a fighter though, and trained harder than anyone Phil knew. Even with her injuries, she was stronger and faster than any other FBI agent that Mel worked with. But the loss of being able to have children, and the knee injury had made Melinda lose confidence in her abilities. So, the switch to Cybercrime happened, and with it, the move to Los Angeles. That had been five years ago. The two had both adjusted to Southern California life, which was a culture shock from living in NYC.

But both Melinda and Phil ended up loving LA, especially now that the coffee scene was thriving. Phil had fun surfing in the mornings before he took the midday shift, and Melinda loved being able to spend her lunch breaks out in the sun. And the couple spent every weekend they could out on the beach, which was Melinda’s favorite place to be.

Phil shook himself out of the reverie as Melinda was speaking to him, “Hey Phil, I’ll be working late tonight. We’ll be in the van doing a stakeout, we are close to finding that hackactivist, working for the Rising Tide.”

“Oh, sorry Melinda, I know you hate the van,” Phil sympathized.

“Yeah, and the new recruit is coming. Jimmy Woo, transfer from San Francisco. Classic bright eyed and bushy tailed agent. Of course, he’s excited about the van,” Melinda rolled her eyes. New agents always loved the van, until they spent thousands of hours in it over the years.

“But It’s all good, Phil. Just don’t wait up for me. I know you’ll be surfing early in the morning tomorrow,” Melinda smiled, looking at Phil’s broad and strong shoulders. Surfing was good to him.

Phil went over and gave Melinda a long kiss, “I guess we’ll just have to have a little fun this weekend then.”

Melinda smirked, returning the kiss, “Alright, Phil, if you keep this up, we’ll both be late for work.”

The two finally broke apart and Phil left the house with a huge smile on his face. He loved being married.


	2. L.A. Cafe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil heads to work and talks with his favorite regular, Skye, who is a computer science major. She lives in her van outside the alley in Phil's shop, which he keeps tabs on to make sure she's safe overnight.
> 
> Little does Phil know that Skye may not be completely honest about who she is.

Phil made it to the cafe to see his regular, parked outside his cafe in her van. The young woman had given her name as Skye, and had asked if she could park her van in his alley at nights so she could sleep.

He of course, obliged, because he knew his street was one of the safest in the area. He didn’t know why this woman was living out of her van, but he knew college students these days had a hard time paying tuition, and figured she just needed a cheap place to stay.

“Hey Skye, what are you working on today? More computer science homework?” Phil asked, noticing her laptop out again.

Skye was a young asian woman who was near Phil’s height. She had dark, long hair, and wore flannel shirts, even in the middle of Los Angeles heat. She always had her laptop on her, without fail. She’d told him she was taking online classes at a local university and needed the wifi. She always bought a double latte every day, so he allowed her to stay as long as she wanted. She’d been propped up in her usual corner, obviously there since the early morning, when his new hire, Yo-Yo Rodriguez had opened. She’d recently come from Colombia, and was looking for a new life here in the United States.

Phil had hired Yo-Yo on the spot after she showed him her pouring skills. She’d learned from her uncle, who owned a cafe down in Colombia. She’s grown up in the coffee fields that her family had owned, and always helped her uncle in the shop.

When asked why she liked to be called Yo-Yo, she’d said it was a nickname her American friends gave her when she’d played soccer with them. She was always able to bounce back up after a hard fall or slide tackle. It’d stuck, so she’d kept it and even asked to have her nametag say Elena “Yo-Yo”

Phil looked back at Skye who had finished a pastry, “Here, I’ll take that plate for you.”

“Hey thanks, MC!” Skye answered, her usual bubbly attitude making Phil smile.

“MC?”

“May-Coulson? Your last name?”

“You can just call me Phil, Skye,” Phil answered, taking the plate and walking back to the coffee bar.

“MC is more fun.” Skye grinned, then took her headphones on. Skye had two modes. Silly and Focused. Phil realized that the silliness and lighthearted attitude hid behind some emotional scars that she had.

He didn’t know why, but he felt the need to be there for her. She’d never mentioned any family. She did say she had some friends that lived in town, but never gave names, and they never met her at the shop.

Suddenly, Phil had remembered something he’d seen in Melinda’s case file this morning. The hacker they were tracking was named Skye. _Could it be? She always has a laptop, she’s very cagey about any personal life details, and she lives in a van._

Phil shook his head. He needed to stop trying to look at Melinda’s files. It always intrigued him. He’d kept wondering if he should have joined Melinda in the FBI, instead of sticking to the coffee world. But then the two of them would be out there all the time. Risking themselves. No, better that Phil had a normal job, that way when Melinda came home, she could take a break from work and just be together with him. If they were both agents, life would have been much more complex. And probably more painful.

What Phil didn’t notice is an unmarked van parked just a block from his cafe, with an audio mike pointed toward where Skye was.


	3. Rising Tide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FBI Agents Melinda May and Jimmy Woo track their hacker to Phil's coffee shop. Another third party is also tracking the hacker, putting her in deadly danger.
> 
> The hacker tries to make a deal with May and Woo.
> 
> Melinda talks to Phil about what's going on at work and how it could change their lives.

Special Agent May and Special Agent Woo pulled up near Phil’s cafe where they believed Skye may be. They’d finally been to track a purchase she’d made, which had led them to the cafe. Melinda had specifically not told Phil about tracking Skye to the shop, only because she didn’t want him giving away any clues to Skye. Phil had a terrible poker face, eyes darting all around. If Skye was a regular customer of his, then Phil would be made in five seconds.

“So you didn’t tell your husband that we were going to be right outside his coffee shop today?” Woo asked May as she set up the surveillance in the van.

May was quite unsure about this Agent Woo. Sure, he seems quite competent, but in a way, he was very much like an FBI agent version of Phil. A little quirky, geeky, very kind, and not at all intimidating. Guess she would have to be the fighter in this partnership. Though, they were working Cybercrimes, so it’s not like the FBI Agents in that division were known for their fighting skills, mostly their tech skills and wit.

“Phil doesn’t exactly know how to keep secrets. He thought about becoming an FBI agent, you know. But he finally decided that if both of us were in the field, there would be little time for an actual relationship.”

“Sounds like you two have something nice,” Woo replied, getting his headphones on and settled into a long day in the van.

May grinned at Woo, “We do. Going on 15 years this year. We have plans to go to Europe. Phil wants to do a tour of the La Marzocco factory in Florence. That’s one of the top espresso machine companies in the world. I told him, we can visit the factory as long as I get beach time.”

Woo turned red as he imagined Agent May on the beach, her sunbathing in her FBI suit and sunglasses. He stifled a laugh, “Good. Yeah. So, do you have an eye on Skye? Heh, eye on Skye.”

May just shook her head at her young partner, “Not yet. Oh wait, yeah, I see her in the corner. Laptop. Headphones. That’s gotta be her. There’s no one else in the shop that I already don’t know as a regular.”

Melinda pretty much knew all of Phil’s customers, but this gal was someone new. She had remembered Phil talking about a computer science student taking residence in the alley with her van. _It has to be the same girl._

“Woo, you keep monitoring her. I’m gonna check her van. Phil said something about letting a college student sleep in her van by the shop. Which means her van is close,” May grabbed her sunglasses and headed out of the van. She didn’t actually know if the van was there, but she also knew staying in that van all day with overeager Woo was not going to be her cup of tea. Thought, she had to admit, Woo reminded of her Phil when he was an overeager barista trying to ask her out, so she couldn’t give Woo too much of a hard time.

As Melinda stealthily moved toward the coffee shop alley, she noticed another unmarked van parked about a block away. She was an experienced enough agent to know that another party was monitoring Skye. And probably not a friendly one.

She comm’d Woo, “There’s a third party here. I’m going to scout and see who it could be.”

The unmarked van hadn’t noticed her yet. Despite her previous injuries, she was as lithe and stealthy as ever. May tuned her audio receiver toward the van.

“Have you ID’d the hacker?” A husky voice said.

“I think she’s in the coffee shop. We need to grab her before she does more damage to our systems. We can’t allow the Pink Panthers to be hacked any longer.”

That was enough for Melinda to hear. The Pink Panthers were a violent criminal group whose crimes included kidnapping, armed heists, carjacking, and more. There was word that Rising Tide, and thus Skye had been hacking into different groups and draining funds. What she did with those funds, May wasn’t sure. It certainly wasn’t to buy anything for herself, if the state of her van was anything to go by.

“Woo, Pink Panther is monitoring her too. If they grab her, it’s likely they will kill her. We can’t allow that to happen. I’m going in, grabbing Skye, and we are getting out. Prep the van to go at any moment.” May snuck through a backway into the coffee shop to the employee only entrance.

She opened the door to see Phil cleaning dishes in the back kitchen. “Melinda, what is going on?”

May ran up to him and put her hand over his mouth, “Skye is the person we’re tracking. She’s in danger. There’s a violent group monitoring her too. I need to send her a message to go to the bathroom. Then I can grab her out of the window. Woo is meeting us back here in the van. We already sent for backup.”

Phil nodded and wrote a quick message on a napkin. He walked calmly over to Skye. “You’re in danger, PP is after you. Go to the bathroom if you want to be safe. Trust me.”

Skye looked at him incredulously, but Phil’s serious face gave her all the knowledge she knew. _Oh no, the Pink Panthers tracked me. How’d they do that? I’ve been getting rusty._

Skye gathered her laptop and put it in her backpack, then she went to the bathroom, leaving her coffee at the seat.

Before the Pink Panthers could realize what was going on, May, Woo, and Skye were driving away quickly as more FBI came on the scene to prevent the Panthers from entering the shop.

They left in a hurry, frustrated that this little hacker girl slipped through their fingers again.

Meanwhile, Skye was in the back of the FBI van fuming at Phil. “I can’t believe he’s married to an FBI agent! Of all people! The SUITS!”

May looked over at this young lady that couldn’t be more than 18 or 19. “How old are you?”

“26” Skye looked down, hands folded and her hair down at her shoulders.

“Uh huh. That’s what someone says when they want to be older.” May replied, giving Skye a small smile to calm her.

“Look, Skye, the panthers were after you. We were monitoring you too, which means you’ve set off a lot of flags in the crime world. You may be smart behind that laptop, but you’re in my world now.”

Skye didn’t answer at first, “I take it you didn’t start out in Cybercrimes, Agent…?”

“Melinda May. No, I started out in violent crimes. But got shot, put me behind a desk for awhile. Went back into the field, then got another injury. Ended up here, where there’s less of a chance I’ll deal with violent criminals. But obviously there’s always a chance, especially with the Panthers in on this one. Why were you after them, anyways? I overheard you stole their funds,” May sat, interrogating Skye without seeming like she was interrogating her.

“I take from those that don’t deserve and give them to those that do deserve. Always been the Rising Tide away,” Skye uncrossed her hands to put her hooded flannel over her head. She didn’t like that she was been asking questions, in an FBI van. The man. The ultimate man. The suits. But this Agent May had saved her from almost certain death. So, she had to at least be semi grateful.

“And how does that explain your little hack into the FBI last week?” May crossed her arms too, and glared at Skye with a look that could kill.

“Like I said, you don’t deserve it.” Skye bit back, then went back to brooding.

“We’ll talk more back at headquarters. Woo, did the rest of the team track the Pink Panthers?” May looked over at Woo, who had been surprisingly silent during the exchange.

“No, they went dark and dumped the van. We’re back at square one with them.”

It was then that Skye glanced back up from her pouting, “I know where they keep base. I’ve been tracking them too.”

May gave Skye a curious look, “Why do I think there’s gonna be a but.”

“But I need my van and the rest of my gear to do it,” Skye then gave May a pleading smile.

“Fine. Woo, tell the team to grab Skye’s van and bring it in too.” May rolled her eyes at this young woman.

“And then you’re gonna tell me all you know about the Panthers, and why you hacked the FBI, the real reason.” May replied.

“How about you don’t throw me in jail for my crimes, and instead I help you take down the panthers. And many other criminal organizations,” Skye answered, grabbing her laptop and pulling up a PDF.

“What’s this?” May answered, sitting down to read the document.

“I’ve prepared for this moment for awhile now,” Skye smiled.

“Wait. You wanted us to pick you up. You’d gotten in too deep, and you want us to protect you,” Woo had put everything together. May approved, maybe he was cut out to be her partner after all.

Skye smirked, “The agent knows what he’s talking about after all.”

May finished reading the document, “Wait, you want to consult for us? While simultaneously serving our your criminal sentence, how does that work? Also does this mean you’re confessing to crimes?”

Skye nodded, “Sure, I’m confessing away. Yes, I hacked into the FBI. Yes, I hacked into the Pink Panthers bank account. Yes, I siphoned funds from them to a nice little orphanage in the Bronx.”

“How would this work? You call me while in jail to help me with crimes?” May wondered, really not understanding Skye’s plan.

“It’s called a tracking anklet. You give me, let’s say a 2 mile radius. I come to work for you every day. And you can see where I’ve been every day,” Skye pointed to another document.

“See, Agent May. FBI has a new tracking anklet that hasn’t been hacked.”

“Until you get your hands on it,” Melinda was unsure about this idea.

“Well, think about it. While you guys ransack my van back at FBI HQ and trying to access my files, I’ll just be waiting in holding on your decision.” Skye gave a smartass look at May and Woo.

“Well, I’ll have to clear it with my superiors, and only IF you provide good intel.” May answered, noticing the van had stopped. They had arrived back at HQ.

Skye was put into holding, and May called Phil to make sure that everyone at the cafe was okay. There was nothing much more to be done that day, until she could clear Skye’s plan with her boss. And find out if the hacker actually had good info.

May decided to pick up some Scotch on the way home, and talk out the events of the day with Phil. Somehow, talking with him, at length, always seemed to help her. Because right now, her mind was swirling.

Who was this Skye, really?

Why did she hack into the FBI?

Why did she steal from a violent criminal organization?

Why was she reaching out to Phil and Melinda?

Did she pick this cafe on purpose?

So many questions, and no answers.

Phil would have his work cut out for him tonight listening to his wife. But somehow, Melinda knew that Phil never minded. May wasn’t usually one to talk things out, but some things just couldn’t stay in her mind. They had to be spoken.


	4. Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melinda and Phil talk about the events of the day and how they can help out Skye over glasses of Scotch. 
> 
> [Cute Philinda domestic feels in this chapter and a little fade to black action]

Melinda May settled into her couch with a glass of Scotch, as Phil grabbed a blanket and the two settled in for the evening.

“Sounds like you have a lot to process, Mel. Do you want to talk about it?” Phil asked, knowing when Melinda got the Scotch out, it was her way of showing Phil that she needed quality time.

Melinda took a sip of the Scotch and answered, “Yeah. I mean, here I just expected to do some surveillance, and then all of the sudden I was performing a rescue of the very person we were trying to catch.”

“It’s all surreal. I just thought Skye was a college student in need. I didn’t realize she was a pro hacker, taking on violent criminal organizations,” Phil shook his head, still in shock at the fact that Skye was hiding right under his nose.

“And the FBI for that matter. But why the FBI? I tried to find her file, Phil. There’s nothing. At least nothing I’m cleared to see. I talked to my boss, he’s gonna put in a word with the Marshalls and see if they can find anything. I have a feeling that she grew up in WitSec,” Melinda replied, the mystery surrounding Skye kept deepening.

Phil put his shoulder around Mel and she leaned into him. “We’ll figure it all out. I think she needs us, Melinda. I have a feeling it wasn’t by accident that she made camp at my shop. She’s searching for something. And it’s at the FBI.”

“And she wants to work for us while carrying out her sentence. Basically she’d be protected by the FBI, while also being able to search for whatever she would need. Maybe her file? It’s not unheard of to have a CI on a tracking anklet. But am I ready for that type of commitment?” Melinda knew that taking on a criminal informant was not an easy task. Others in the field had done so, and keeping their ward on a leash was always trouble. They usually ended up right back in prison.

“But you said she’s young, right? Maybe this is how we can get her back on her feet. Become a law-abiding citizen. We have to help her, Mel,” Phil sat up and looked deeply into Mel’s brown eyes. His blue ones softening. Phil and Melinda never did get to have children. While having a CI wasn’t the same as having a child, this is a way they could become a mentor and a friend to a young woman who desperately needed it.

Melinda sighed then gave Phil a kiss on the cheek, “You’re right. I’m going to do whatever in my power to solve the mystery that is Skye. Can I bring you to HQ tomorrow? I think she’ll open up to you, maybe we can get more information about her past.”

“I’ll definitely do that Mel. I’ll get Mack to come into the shop and take my shift. He’s in town for a Latte Art Competition but came a little early to visit. I’m sure he’ll understand,” Phil gave Melinda a hug.

“Thanks, Phil.”

“So, are we going to talk all night…or…?” Phil gave Melinda a look at her Scotch glass, which was now empty.

Melinda smirked at her husband, “No, I’m all talked out. I need another way to get this nervous energy out.”

“Well then, I’ll refill our glasses and why don’t we head upstairs,” Phil helped Melinda up and grabbed her backside as he did. She smiled. Phil always knew when the timing was right. He knew that Melinda could only chat for so long, and usually these chats turned into something a little more fun.

It was how their relationship worked so well. They always made sure they were mentally and emotionally connected, before the physical. Phil always gave Mel time and space that she needed to process after work, or like tonight, a place for conversation.

On many occasions, the night would end with Mel and Phil in each others arms. No matter what was going on at work, at the shop, at the FBI, Mel and Phil had each other.

“I thought you’d never ask, Phil. Let’s go,” Melinda said as she already began to remove her shirt as she walked up the stairs. By the time the two got up to their room, clothes were draped every which way and music could be heard all the way from the street.


	5. The Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melinda and Phil try to get Skye to talk about who she is and why she hacked the FBI. 
> 
> Philindaisy fam feels!

Phil had finished making breakfast for both him and Melinda, as they’d both be headed to FBI headquarters, to talk more to Skye and figure out what she really wanted.

“As usual, Phil, your egg sandwiches are delicious,” Melinda said between bites, feeling well rested. She always slept better when she was in Phil’s arms all night.

“Thank you, thank you, I’ll here all night,” Phil stood up and gave a bow to his wife.

The doorbell rang, and Phil looked over at Melinda, “Now who could that be?”

Melinda rolled her eyes, “It must be Woo. He’s quite the overeager agent. Probably wants to get to HQ early to start the investigation. Mel opened the door to find Jimmy Woo, with a coffee in hand and a smile on his face.

“Come on in, Agent Woo, we’re just finished breakfast,” Melinda said, as Phil stood up to shake the younger agent’s hand.

“Oh right, forgot you have a life at home, Agent May. I apologize. I was just so excited to start the day and figure out who Skye was! I was tossing and turning all night just thinking about it. The mystery is killing me!”

Phil gave Melinda a “you weren’t kidding about the overeager” look.

“Hi Agent Woo, I’m Phil, Melinda’s husband. Nice to meet you!” Phil put on a friendly face. He knew what it was like to be an excited young person faced with a new job.

“Nice to meet you, Phil. Thanks for letting me steal your wife sometimes. I mean, for work that is,” Woo replied, turning red with the awkward comment.

“Not a problem. Well, are we all ready? I’m coming to the office too, to give my statements on what I know about Skye, since I knew her first,” Phil said, getting up and clearing the dishes. He was sort of excited. He rarely got to see Melinda’s office, and he was also secretly curious about finding out who Skye was.

The three got into Woo’s car and made it to HQ. Melinda strode in to see her boss, who told her that Skye was in holding and awaiting questions. She cautioned Woo, “I’m going to go in there first with Phil, to see if she’ll talk to us. I think she’s trying to reach out.”

Woo looked disappointed but nodded, “I’ll just listen in and see if I get any clues.”

“Thanks Woo.”

Phil and Melinda entered the holding room, to find a serious looking Skye , still in her flannel hoodie. She looked a little ragged, which meant she hadn’t slept well in holding. Phil handed her a coffee.

“Hi Skye. So you’ve met my wife, Melinda May, who is an FBI agent,” Phil put on a soft look, trying to make Skye feel more comfortable.

“Yes, we got acquainted back in the stinky van. Which actually smells better than my van, I wondered why it was so cheap. My friends call it the FartMobile,” Skye replied, chuckling to herself.

“So you have friends here?” Melinda asked, wondering if Skye had help or people she could trust.

Skye avoided her gaze, “A few.”

May decided to continue with the prodding, “So Skye, we know you work for Rising Tide, and you are siphoning funds from criminal organizations and giving them to the needy. Why hack the FBI then? It doesn’t make sense. I don’t believe that ‘we deserved it’ bit either.”

Skye didn’t want to answer, but she knew she’d be stuck in FBI holding, or worse, prison, if she didn’t answer. She reached into her pocket and handed May an SD card. “This is everything I have.”

“On us?”

“On me.”

Melinda grabbed a nearby laptop and stuck the SD card in it. Uploaded on there was one single FBI file.

“In my lifelong search for who I was, for who my parents are, all I have found is one file. Redacted. By FBI,” Skye’s voice started shaking.

Melinda was shocked. Phil was right, this hacker did need help. She wasn’t some hardened criminal, but a woman who was just trying to find her parents. Find herself. She sighed. She knew taking on this girl as her criminal informant was going to be a challenge, but she knew she needed to do it.

“Skye, we’ll find them. I’ll help you. I’ve decided that I will take that deal after all. You’ll serve out your sentence with me as a CI, and we’ll take down the panthers. And find your parents,” Melinda put her hand on Skye’s, “I promise.”

Skye looked over at Phil who also nodded. She found people who actually seemed to care. Sure, having a tracking anklet and working for the FBI wasn’t what she expected to happen, but it was far better than spending the next four years in prison.

“Thank you, thank you!” Skye answered, with Melinda taking the handcuffs off Skye.

“Come on, Skye, let’s get the paperwork figured out and the tracking anklet ordered. Phil, go with Woo and figure out what kind of housing she can have. For now, you can stay with Phil and I until we find you a place.”

Skye smiled and said under her breath, “No more living in a stinky van.”


	6. The Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye officially becomes Melinda's C.I. and gets moved into her own apartment, where she gets surprised by a couple of friends.
> 
> [Bus Kids!!!!!!!]

Skye had moved into her new place, which was an apartment in the same building as Phil’s coffee shop. She had requested her two mile radius to include the shop, because she claimed the coffee was the best in the world. Of course, the real reason was because it would be nice to stay close to Phil and Melinda, who lived just a block from the shop.

She’d stayed with them for a couple days until the paperwork got through. It was strange. She’d only known this couple for a few days, yet they already seemed like family. Phil had made pancakes one morning, as well as the best mug of French press coffee she’d ever had.

Melinda was quiet but kind, and always had a warm smile on her face whenever Phil looked in her direction. Skye had never been around happy married couples, and it was refreshing to see. She’d spent some time with different homes under Witsec and the foster care system, and none of them were happy homes.

Despite getting used to the tracking anklet, Skye felt at peace for the first time in her life. Of course, this didn’t mean her life was perfect. She still didn’t know who her parents were, what her real name even was, and was technically serving out a four year criminal sentence for her cyber crimes.

Skye opened the door to her apartment after another long day working with Melinda, which mostly involved paperwork and case files. Boring, but it beat living in a stinky van dodging the Panthers.

As she walked into her simple apartment, she knew instantly that she wasn’t alone. She grabbed her pepper spray from her pocket. She turned on the lights and was about to unleash the spray when she heard her friend, in a very thick Scottish accent, yell, “WHOA SKYE, IT’S JUST FITZ!”

“Fitz, dammit why did you sneak into my apartment? A phone call would’ve sufficed!” Skye yelled back, her heart pumping out of her chest.

“That’s what I told him, but he wanted to surprise you,” A soft British voice sounded from the bathroom as Simmons came into the room.

“Simmons! You’re here too!” Skye closed the gap between her best friend and gave her a huge hug. “What are you two doing in the US? I thought you were in London working in a super secret lab?”

Simmons released her hug with Skye and responded, “We just entered the SHIELD Academy! They opened a new Sci-Tech Academy here in Los Angeles, and of course, we had to enter.”

“What? SHIELD? How did they convince you? I thought Fitz never wanted to work for a government agency? What happened to working with Rising Tide?” Skye responded. Rising Tide had contacts with different labs around the world, and that’s how Skye met FitzSimmons. They’d helped her with some research involving her parents, which led her to the FBI in the first place.

“Well, Sci-Tech wants the best and brightest working for them, plus they have a state of the art laboratory. Simmons was practically chomping at the bit to apply. Besides, Rising Tide was catching too much heat. It was time to bow out,” Fitz replied, happy to see his friend as well.

“I guess we’re all working for the man now,” Skye pointed to her tracking anklet and showed FitzSimmons her C.I. badge, which she had just gotten that day.

“It was going to happen eventually, Skye. Besides, this is the best way to find out about your parents, right?” Simmons said, sitting next to her two friends on Skye’s small couch.

“True. It’s just so weird being on the run for so long. Now I have an apartment, a job, friends, and a mentor. Well, she’s my handler, but I can tell she’s not in it to get me, you know? I trust them, Agent May and Phil.” Skye had a very hard time trusting any authority figure. But with Phil and May, it was just, so inherent. They had a natural trustworthiness with him.

“You trust your handler? The person who could throw you in prison at any moment if you make a wrong move?” Fitz said, always the more cynical one.

Skye thought for a moment and nodded, “I do. I just know I can trust May. It’s only been a few days though. We’ll see how it goes down the road when I’m buried in case work.”

“Well, I’m just happy we get to see each other in-person again,” Simmons replied, giving Skye another hug.

“You two will have to tell me stories about the Academy!” Skye answered, feeling excited for her two friends. She’d wanted them to get together for awhile now, and for now, they just seemed like friends. But if they were together at the Academy, maybe something would happen.

“You know, Skye, I’m sure once your sentence is over, you can join the Academy as well. There’s a Comms Academy near here. That’s where you’d go with your hacking skills.” Fitz said, trying to imagine Skye in a Comms Shield suit.

“Why not Sci-Tech? I’m a hacker, after all,” Skye answered, feeling slightly offended.

“Because they require at least one PHD to enter the Academy. At Comms, they’ll pretty much take anybody.” Simmons said, not realizing how it sounded.

“Thanks.” Skye said sarcastically.

“Oh we didn’t mean it like that Skye. We know you’re a genius with computer science. Sci-Tech is just more academic, you know?” Fitz answered, trying to make his friend feel better.

“Well, for now I’m just going to focus on this FBI stuff with May. And try to find my parents. I can’t really think about my life in four years, when I’m off this anklet. I just wish it came in a different color. Like rose gold or something,” Skye looked down at the black and clunky tracking anklet.

“I bet we could design one that was sleek, like a bracelet. Wonder if the FBI would let us use the design?” Fitz wondered, his brain already in design mode.

“That’d be amazing. Get on it, Fitz.” Skye said and smiled. “So you guys want to get dinner? I found this amazing ramen place within my radius.”

“Let’s go! I’m hungry!” Fitz replied, grabbing his new SHIELD Academy jacket.

“This boy eats nonstop.” Simmons rolled her eyes at her best friend.

The three friends went to the ramen shop while FitzSimmons told stories about the Academy, their classes, and how excited they were to embark on a new journey.

Skye had to admit, she wishes she could be in the Academy with them. Instead, it was anklet, case files, and a small FBI cubicle for her everyday. At least she had her friends, and Melinda and Phil. Life wasn’t so bad, after all.


	7. The Puppy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil and Mack go surfing then find an abandoned puppy outside the cafe. Phil instantly falls in love with the puppy and now has to convince Melinda to let them adopt her.
> 
> [Oooooooookay I wrote this because absolutely Phil would be adorable with a puppy because we already know a certain someone with the spitting image of Phil Coulson *cough Clark Gregg cough* is ADORABLE with puppies and I literally cannot get enough of his Lucy posts. So yes, Lucy is absolutely based on Clark's real life puppy. Just let me indulge myself in this...]

Phil had finished another morning surfing, the waves were stellar, and he had caught some sweet rides while his friend Mack took photos.

“Coulson! Wow! You looked amazing out there!” Mack said to his friend, who was toweling down and trying to warm back up.

“Thanks, Mack. Yeah, it’s been great actually. I surf most mornings, then take the afternoon to closing shift. Then I’m home by the time Melinda gets back from work,” Coulson said, taking off his wetsuit.

“Whoa man. Does Melinda know you’re this ripped?” Mack smiled at his friend. Mack had always been a tank and very muscular, so when he stood next to his short and skinny friend at the coffee shop, people would notice Mack, and not Coulson, much to Phil’s annoyance.

Coulson blushed as his friend made a comment about his broad surfer shoulders, “Mack, she gets to see this on the regular. It’s the other women she’s worried about.”

Mack rolled his eyes, “Yeah, all the women just staring at a short and balding 40 year old trying to be an amateur surfer.”

Coulson hit Mack in the shoulder, “Hey now, not everyone can be sculpted and perfect like you. And speaking of thinning hair, you sure keep yours short.”

“Yeah, but my head looks fantastic,” Mack replied, gaining some looks from some of the other surfers there. He winked at some of them.

“Truth. Alright, turn around so I can get my pants on.” Coulson took off the rest of his wetsuit on and slipped on shorts quickly. Surfers were used to just changing in the parking lot, that’s just what you did. Everyone was respectful.

Mack and Phil hopped in the car after loading up the board and started driving back to the shop.

“So…what did you think of Yo-Yo?” Phil smirked over at Mack who had taken a shift with Yo-Yo when Phil was at FBI headquarters.

Mack just smiled, “Elena? Yeah, she’s great. Knows her coffee. I think she could enter nationals next year if you keep training her.”

Coulson just prodding, “Uh huh. So, you guys talk much?”

Mack shook his head, “Oh now you are the one trying to hook me up? Yeah, I mean. She’s cute. Smart. Funny. We maybe are going on a date tonight after my competition.”

“YES. You’ll have to tell me all the DEETS.”

“DEETS? Coulson, you aren’t a teenager. Come on. Yes, I’ll let you know how it goes,” Mack replied, getting out of the car now that they were parked at the shop.

“Woof woof woof” The two friends heard barking, and noticed a small black puppy on its own in front of the shop.

“Whoa, hey there little one, you look lost,” Phil said, picking up the puppy and noticing no collar.

The puppy immediately calmed at Phil’s touch, and she licked him. “Oh, the puppy’s a girl. She’s sweet. I’m gonna bring her in and get her some milk. I’ll call the shelter and see if they know of a lost puppy.”

Phil brought the puppy in and got her milk, which she immediately lapped up. Then he grabbed some dog treats from his supply. He’d always let dogs in the shop, and owners were happy to get a little puppy latte and treats for their pups. Phil had always wanted a dog, but Melinda and him never had the time to go looking for one.

After talking to the shelter and getting information from them, it seemed they hadn’t heard of this particular dog being lost. Phil decided to bring the puppy to a vet, to get her checked out after work.

“Hey Melinda, gonna be home a little late tonight, need to run an errand on the way home,” Phil had called Mel to give her a heads up. He wasn’t sure how she’d react to him bringing home a dog, but he couldn’t let the puppy just hang on the street. She needed a good home.

The vet checked her out and said she was in good health, other than being skinny. “So are you going to keep her?” The vet, named Dr. Cal Johnson asked Coulson.

“That’s up to my wife, but yes, I’m hoping so,” Phil let the pup snuggle up in his arms after the check up.

“What are you going to name her?” Dr. Johnson wondered to Phil.

Phil looked at the pup for a long while. She had fluffy black fur, and was quite tiny. He reminded her of one of his favorite book characters from Chronicles of Narnia: Lucy.

“Lucy. Lucy seems right,” Phil replied, and Lucy responded to her new name in kind, giving Phil all sorts of licks.

“I think she approves,” Dr. Johnson laughed, and sent Phil along with some basic supplies until he could get more.

“Thanks, Dr. Johnson!”

“Call me Cal, Phil. Come on, we’ve known each other for how many years now? Just give Melinda my love, and tell her to let you keep the puppy,” Cal answered giving the dog one more pet.

“I’ll try, Cal, I’ll try.”

Phil made it home to see Melinda already in the kitchen dishing out some leftover Chinese food. They’d had Kung Pao and rice the night before, and there were always leftovers because Phil always ordered way too much.

“Hey love, how was your—“ Melinda stopped as she noticed the puppy in Phil’s arms.

Phil gave her begging puppy dog eyes, the one look she had a very hard time resisting. “So…there was this puppy abandoned outside my shop, and no one’s claimed her so….”

“Phil. Are you saying you want to adopt this dog?” Melinda crossed her arms.

“Her name is Lucy. And yes.” Phil stuck out his lower lip in a next level plead.

Melinda rolled her eyes, but couldn’t resist her husband’s pleading look, “I guess we’re both adopting strays these days.”

“I don’t know if Skye would appreciate being called a stray, but yeah, good point.” Phil laughed. First taking on Skye was a C.I. and now adopting a puppy. Melinda and Phil sure liked to do things in one fell swoop.

“So Lucky Lucy, are you going to be sleeping with us?” Melinda asked, giving the puppy a snuggle. “Oh, she’s adorable.” Melinda said as she took Lucy from Phil’s arms.

“Yes, you are,” Phil said, seeing Melinda holding this puppy with loving eyes made his heart swell.

Melinda couldn’t help but to smile as Lucy licked her face. “Oh puppy. Okay, okay. I get it, you like me.”

Phil laughed and took a few photos of Melinda and Lucy. “My two beautiful girls.” Phil leaned in to give Mel a kiss, and the puppy licked both of their faces while they smooched.

“Ohhhhhh puppy and Phil kisses at once! This is crazy,” Melinda replied, setting the puppy down.

Phil laughed even harder, “Yeah, we’ll have to set some boundaries with the puppy.”

“Yeah, she’s not climbing in bed with us while we’re…” Melinda started

“Melinda, of course not. We’ll get a crate and make sure to get our privacy,” Phil answered, laughing at the image of the puppy trying to climb in bed while they were getting frisky.

“Okay, as long as I still get my Phil time,” Melinda grinned sitting down and allowing Lucy to climb in her lap.

“You will, I promise,” Phil sat on the couch and snuggled with his wife and new puppy. Lucy fell asleep promptly on Mel’s lap, and Phil couldn’t be happier.

He then got a text from Mack that said, “First date went really well. Already planned a second!”

Phil texted back, “Right on, Mack!”

“Who is that?” Melinda asked, resting her head on Phil’s shoulder as she felt Lucy’s calm breathing.

“Mack. Him and Yo-Yo are dating. Well. First date. And now a second date is planned,” Phil smiled. It was his turn to play matchmaker.

“Oh, those two would be cute together! I love it!,” Mel smiled, remembering back when Mack and Phil worked at the cafe in New York together. Mack and his other coworker, Vick, had nagged Phil to ask Melinda out on every shift. Eventually it worked, and within days, Phil and Melinda had starting going out. Well, that was another story, for another day.

“Yeah, maybe we’ll do a double date with them,” Phil responded and then kissed Melinda deeply.

“So, am I setting the puppy down?” Mel asked, not wanting to wake Lucy but also very much wanting to make out with her husband.

“Yes, here, the vet sent me along with a dog bed. We’ll set her in with a blanket,” Phil gently lifted Lucy off Mel’s lap and set her in the bed. She whined quietly, and then settled back into the bed.

“Okay, are we good?” Melinda asked, wondering if she should whisper or not.

“We’re good,” Phil replied, noticing Lucy in a very deep puppy sleep. The two ran upstairs to their bedroom in quiet steps.

Melinda grabbed Phil by his hip and pulled him on top of her. “Mmmmmmm”

The puppy did eventually wake up, but thankfully well after Melinda and Phil had their fun. Phil let Lucy sleep in between them and Melinda protested but then put her arm around Lucy and Phil. They were now a little family of three, well, four of you count Skye in the mix. How their lives had changed in just a few days. And it would continue to change, for better or for worse. Only time would tell.


	8. The Veterinarian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May and Phil go on a quick weekend getaway, leaving Skye to dogsit Lucy. After Lucy gets sick, Skye and Jimmy take her to the vet. Dr.Cal Johnson, the veterinarian seems oddly familiar to Skye, leaving her with many questions.

It had been a few months since Skye had been working with Agent May and Agent Woo, and they seemed no closer to declassifying Skye’s file. May even reached out to her mother with her SHIELD contacts to no avail.

May assured Skye that they would keep trying to solve the case, but reminded her that she had to solve their normal cybercrimes cases too. That was their job, after all. Skye had gotten used to the two mile radius, but was already getting sick of all the restaurants in the area.

Phil had encouraged her to learn to cook, and tried to teach her a few of his basic recipes. After almost burning down the apartment, Phil shook his head and said, “You’re as bad as May in the cooking department. Why did you add water to an oil fire?”

Skye shrugged her shoulders, “Water on fire seemed like a good choice.”

Phil rubbed his eyes from the smoke, “How did you even survive living in a van by yourself?”

Skye gave Phil a look, “Hey now. I ate a lot of cup o noodles. Hard to mess up hot water and a bowl of noodles.”

Phil laughed at a memory, “You’d be surprised. You haven’t seen Mel in the kitchen. Speaking of Melinda, we are going on a quick vacation tomorrow morning, and I wanted to see if you could housesit for us and watch Lucy.”

“Really? I would love to!” Skye absolutely loved Lucy and anytime she got to watch Lucy while Phil and Melinda went on dates, she did.

“Thanks, Skye. Hey, be good while we’re gone. Don’t give poor Jimmy crap, okay?” Phil softened his eyes at his friend. He had seen her as a daughter for some time now. Melinda tried to still emotionally distance herself since she was Skye’s handler, but Phil had no such reservations.

“I won’t. Jimmy is a nice guy, a great agent. Plus, May would kill me if I made trouble while you guys were gone. So, did she pack the red bikini? I saw her ordering when I was in her office the other day,” Skye winked at Phil, trying to get a rise out of him. One of her favorite things to do was to make him embarrassed.

Phil blushed the same shade as the red bikini, “Uh…I had not seen that yet. Guess I have something to look forward to.”

“To what?” May came into Skye’s apartment to see Phil with a red face.

“Nothing, Mel. Here to take Skye to work?” Phil kissed Mel on the cheek as she handed off Lucy to him.

“Yes, and to give her all the instructions for housesitting and dog sitting, there are going to be some house rules, and Jimmy will be on anklet duty while I’m gone,” Melinda handed Skye a file full of instructions.

“Yes, mom,” Skye rolled her eyes.

“Mom?” Phil gave her a smirk.

“Ma’am. Clearly, I said ma’am, Phil.” It was Skye turn to blush.

“Uh huh. Well, I better get to the shop. Come on Luc, let’s get you a doggie latte,” Phil said in a baby talk voice as Lucy showered him with licks.

Skye and Melinda just laughed as they saw Phil leave the apartment. “You’re one lucky woman, May.”

Melinda gave Skye a small smile, “Yeah, I am. He’s a dork. But he’s my dork.”

“I hope I find a dork one day,” Skye said longingly.

Melinda put a hand on her shoulder, “You will, when the time is right. Come on, let’s get this day started so I can get to the vacation.”

>>>

Skye put her feet up on May and Coulson’s coffee table, and sighed satisfied as she ate ice cream straight out of the pint. Lucy looked jealous, so Skye gave her a few bites, not knowing that ice cream wasn’t the best for puppies.

It didn’t take long before Lucy was clearly sick, and Skye panicked. She didn’t want to disturb May and Phil so she called Jimmy.

“What is it Skye? Something wrong?” Jimmy could hear the panic in Skye’s voice.

“Something is wrong with Lucy, I gave her ice cream and now she’s sick,” Skye felt horrible. Of course, the one time she’s put in charge of Lucy, and May and Coulson’s house, she messes stuff up.

“Okay, not to worry. I’ll pick up you and Lucy, and we’ll take her to the vet. I’m sure Melinda put Lucy’s vet contact info in the file.

“Right, right, okay, let’s see here. It looks like his name is Cal Johnson, I’ll call him right now.” Skye held Lucy as she started shaking.

Jimmy got to the house quickly and Skye had contacted Dr. Johnson, who was thankfully still at the vet’s office. Apparently he worked late hours, since he didn’t have any family. Skye had thought it a bit odd that he mentioned it, but her concern for Lucy overridden any weirdness.

Dr. Johnson was standing outside the vet clinic with a warm smile. He had longer hair that was brown, and brown eyes to match. He was wearing a green and white plaid shirt under his lab coat.

He took Lucy into his arms and gave Skye a smile, “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. A little ice cream just giving her a belly ache. But we’ll give her some medicine, okay?”

Skye and Jimmy followed Dr. Johnson into the clinic, and he set Lucy down to do some tests. It didn’t take long, but while Jimmy took a call and stepped outside, Skye noticed Dr. Johnson looking at her introspectively.

“Have we met before? My name is Cal, of course, you knew that,” Cal said, holding out his hand to officially shake Skye’s.

“Uh, maybe at Phil’s coffee shop? I’m there all the time,” Skye responded, trying to remember if she’d seen this man at the cafe. He oddly seemed familiar.

“Maybe that’s it. Okay Lucy, just one more quick blood draw and we’ll be done. As long as the ice cream didn’t have chocolate, we should be in the clear,” Cal began to sing softly to Lucy as he did the blood draw.

The song felt eerily familiar to Skye, like it was something from a dream. “That song, where is it from, I’ve heard it before.”

Cal gave her a very confused look, “That’s impossible. I made up this song. I sang it to my baby daughter every time I put her to sleep. Here, let me show you a photo of her.”

He grabbed a photo from his office, and showed it to Skye. Skye gasped. It was her. She’d seen baby photos of herself, and knew undoubtedly it was her in the photos. Skye calmed herself, deciding to play it cool, “What happened to your daughter? You had said earlier on the phone that you had no family.”

Cal took a moment to compose himself, he always got a little teary eyed when people asked about this photo, “She died, long ago in a car accident. I don’t remember it at all actually. I only remember the past 10 years. They said I was in a coma for all that time. But I don’t know. It seems, wrong. I’m sorry Skye, for bothering you with this. Looks like Lucy’s lab results are in, she’s in the clear. Just no more ice cream, okay?”

At that moment, Jimmy came back into the clinic. “Hey, sorry about that, had to take a call. So Lucy is all fine? I’ll take you back to the house, Skye.”

The ride back with Jimmy was silent, other than Lucy’s light whimpers that eventually stopped as the medicine kicked in. Skye was utterly confused. Here was this random veterinarian whose memory was faulty, whose daughter had supposedly died in a car crash who looked exactly like her, and who knew the song she often dreamt about.

“Everything okay, Skye? Lucy is totally fine, by the way, don’t worry,” Jimmy had mistaken Skye’s silence for worry about the dog, instead of the craziness of what had happened in Cal’s office.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine. I’m glad Lucy is gonna be okay. No more excitement for us, little puppy, huh?” Skye put on a happy face for Jimmy so he wouldn’t worry.

Skye was able to get Lucy asleep pretty easily, but she was up all night, tossing and turning, the song Cal had sung going repeatedly in her head.

Could Cal be her long-lost father? She didn’t know, but there were too many coincidences. She couldn’t wait till May and Coulson got back, so she could investigate further. But in the first time in her life, she felt hope, hope that she could find out who she was, and who her parents were. And with that thought, she was finally able to fall asleep


	9. The Lighthouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melinda and Phil take a long road trip up to the coast to stay in a lighthouse for the weekend. After the busyness of adopting a puppy, taking on more case loads, and Phil preparing for latte art competitions, Phil and Melinda haven't gotten the quality time that they need.
> 
> [Spicy sexy times for Phil and Melinda, as well as Melinda opening up to some pent up feelings. Lots of Philinda feels as well as talking about how Skye is so important to their little family]

_Meanwhile on Phil and Melinda’s vacation weekend._

The drive up to the East Brother Light Station was stunning, Phil had taken the 101 route up the coast. It was a long drive, but with classic rock on the station, stops at viewpoints for photos and a little bit of kissing, Phil and Melinda finally made it.

“Phil, you’ve outdone yourself planning this one,” Melinda gasped in awe as the boat landed on the little island. Phil had been a little hesitant leaving Lola on the shores, but the lighthouse owner said all the cars parked are quite safe.

The light station was remodeled in a Victorian style, and Mel and Phil would be the only ones on the island for the weekend, besides the caretakers, of course. It had been a stressful few months adjusting to having a new puppy, having Skye has May’s C.I. and Phil preparing for the next National Barista Championship.

So Phil had asked Melinda if she could take some time off, let Agent Woo and Skye handle things with Lucy and at the FBI. After a little convincing, and promises of a spicy weekend, Melinda relented and requested the time off.

“Now, no checking Skye’s anklet. We’re six hours away, nothing we can do if anything were to happen. Jimmy and the others are keeping good watch,” Phil cautioned Melinda, who wanted as much uninterrupted time as possible with his wife of fifteen years.

Melinda gave a pouty face, “Fine. I’ll try to not think about work. And you also need to not be checking in with Mack every five seconds about the shop.”

“Caught. Okay. You’re right. I won’t think about work if you don’t think about work. I’m just glad Mack has decided to move to Los Angeles. I’m pretty sure he was a little motivated, now that him and Elena are together,” Phil smiled, thinking about his good friend. After a few dates, Elena and Mack had decided they wanted to take their relationship to the next level. Mack decided to move to LA, and the two seemed like they would get engaged any time now.

Phil and Melinda made it into their room at the lighthouse, it was a cozy place with a view of the Bay. A bottle of wine was set out on the bed, as well as rose pedals. As Phil finished bringing in the rest of the luggage, Melinda stared at her husband with hungry lips.

He wore slim fit jeans that sat on his ass well. He was a curvy man, and she did not mind in the least bit. His biceps were tight against his shirt, and he had a day’s worth of scruff on his face.

Phil noticed Melinda’s gaze on him and he gave her a steamy stare. Melinda was wearing black comfortable leggings with a dark blue low v-neck, and a necklace that settled in between her breasts. He licked his lips and closed the gap between them.

“Now, I need to stretch my legs a little bit from that road trip, wanna help me?” Phil bringing in a hand along Mel’s hip.

“I’d love to, Phil,” Melinda put her hand in his back pocket, feeling the curves and grabbing a good amount of ass along with it.

“Mmm,” Phil could only respond, not able to use actual words. Pretty much all rational thought went out the window when Melinda put her hands down his pants.

Phil responded in kind, taking off her shirt and bra with ease. While Melinda always said Phil was a dork, he was very smooth in the bedroom. He rubbed his hips against her leg and they ended up collapsing onto the bed, with rose pedals surrounding them.

“Ow, just landed on the wine bottle,” Melinda said, grabbing the bottle out from under her.

“Oh, everything okay?” Phil stopped what he was doing with concern on his face.

Melinda responded by grabbing his shoulder and pulling her down on top of him. Melinda wasn’t going to let a little interruption like that prevent them from making love.

After a long session, the two finally caught their breaths, and smiled in complete elation.

“The rose pedals were a nice touch,” Phil said, noticing them crushed underneath them.

“The wine bottle on the other hand,” Melinda joked but then winced as she realized she had landed on it a little harder than she thought in all the passion.

“Oh yeah, you’ve already got a bruise,” Phil said, giving her lower back a kiss. “There, all better.”

“Phil, want to open that wine?” Melinda said, wanting to spend the rest of the evening drinking and spooning with her husband.

“Yes ma’am.” Phil poured them both a large glass of the red wine, and they both sipped them between kisses and more fondling.

“This is nice, finally getting some time to ourselves. Between Skye and the puppy, we haven’t exactly had a lot of privacy lately,” Phil said, kissing Mel’s collar bone.

“I know, life has been kind of crazy lately. Between the case loads, researching Skye’s family, the puppy, it seems like we barely get time for each other anymore,” Melinda responded, as she played with Phil’s short hair.

“I know, it’s hard, as we get older, and as we take on more responsibilities. But that’s why I decided for us to take this time away. Sometimes it’s easy to pour ourselves into our work and just live side by side, not face to face,” Phil took another sip of the wine, then got up to pour another glass.

Melinda thought there was nothing more sexy than her naked husband pouring wine, and Phil smiled as she kept gazing at him. He did a little dance as he got back into the bed.

“You dork. Yes, we need to make sure we always make time for each other, Phil. I know how easy it is for me to get focused on work. I’m sorry if I’ve been distant lately,” Melinda replied. It’s not as if they hadn’t been intimate, they did, fairly regularly but there was more to marriage than sex.

“It’s okay, Mel. I’m sorry delving into my job too, and being so focused on the puppy that I haven’t been giving you the quality time you need,” Phil had fallen deeply in love with his puppy Lucy, and sometimes it did take time away from Melinda and him spending time together, whether it was watching shows or playing a card game.

“Aww. I think it’s adorable that you adopted Lucy. You make a good puppy dad. If only…” Melinda said somberly, the wine making her a bit emotional. It was still very hard for Melinda, that she wasn’t able to conceive. She’d imagined Phil as the most amazing father. But, at the same time, Phil had always been a great mentor to his employees, and to Skye, and a great dad to Lucy.

“I know, Mel. I wish there was a way. You know, we could look into adoption again,” Phil asked, pulling in Melinda closer as she started to tear up.

“With Skye as my C.I. adoption is off the table,” Melinda said regrettably.

“You know, Mel, Skye sees you as a mother figure. Remember when she called you mom the other day?” Phil said, as he thought back.

“You’re right. It’s hard. Because if I don’t separate out my feelings, it could ruin our team relationship,” Melinda said, realizing that she had grown close with Skye. The couple had her over for dinner regularly, and noticed how she looked at the both of them, with love and care. Skye truly did see Phil and Melinda as surrogate parents.

“It’s more than team and you know it,” Phil said, knowing Melinda had a hard time getting emotionally involved, especially to the agents and informants she worked with.

“You’re right. I just…don’t want either me or Skye, or you to get hurt. If Skye ends up going back to her hacker life, and breaks the handler and criminal informant bond, she could end up in jail, or worse,” Melinda let herself rest her head on Phil’s bare chest.

“We’re already involved, honestly, the best thing to do is to keep being mentors to Skye. That’s what she needs. A family. And I think we need her, just as much as she needs us,” Phil said, playing with Mel’s hair as he felt her breath on his skin.

“Phil, you are so wise. I’m so glad I stumbled into your cafe all those years ago,” Melinda started to feel sleepy, as the long drive, sex, and wine began to catch up with her.

“Melinda, you are the most amazing and strong person that I know. This new season, will challenge us in ways we can’t imagine. But it will bring us closer, I’m sure of it,” Phil said, breathing in Mel’s hair.

The two slowly fell asleep, in each other’s arms. Melinda had slept calmly for the first time in what seemed like years. Phil had woken up a couple of times, to see his wife breathing softly, her features so calm. His heart swelled with pride, Melinda had gone through so much in her life. Being shot, dealing with injuries, finding out she couldn’t have kids of her own.

She often kept her emotions so hidden. He didn’t know she was still haunted by not being able to have a child. Phil had hoped adopting Lucy would help, but he thinks it made her see Phil as the dad he could have been.

But Phil had a feeling that Melinda kept her emotions close to the heart because she didn’t want to get hurt again. But he also knew how much she cared for Skye and Lucy already. They may never be able to have a family of their own, but they could be with the family they already had.

The sun rose, with dawn casting a beautiful light on the ocean. Phil got up to make some coffee and tea. Melinda was still sleeping, a testament to how tired she was. She rarely got enough sleep, and he was careful to be as silent as possible.

But the smell of tea and coffee woke up Melinda, who saw her husband, clad in just his tight jeans and no shirt, sipping a cup of coffee and reading a book. He’d donned his reading glasses, a thick pair that always made her smile.

“Hey there husband,” Melinda said smoothly, always in awe of how attracted she could be to her husband. He wasn’t the strongest man, nor the most smooth, many women would be turned off by his thinning hair and short, curvy body. But she thought he was incredibly hot. As he started surfing the past few years, his upper body had gotten quite muscular, and his ass looked amazing in a wet suit. He’d been a little self conscious about the tighter pair of jeans that Melinda had bought for him, but seeing how it made her quite horny every time he wore them, he decided it was worth it.

“Good morning, Mel, how did you sleep?” Phil stood up to grab his wife a cup of tea and some toast.

He handed her the tea and gave her a kiss on the neck, which made her squeal in delight, “Phil, I’m gonna spill my tea.”

“Sorry, just seeing my wife wake up with nothing on but the bed sheets gets me excited,” Phil laughed, noticing his pants feeling just a bit tighter.

“Well, seeing my husband wearing only his tight jeans and his glasses, is so hot,” Melinda set down her tea to pull Phil in for a kiss. Her tongue reached his mouth and then she made a face, “Coffee.”

“You love it.”

“No, I don’t like the taste of coffee on your breath.”

“Yes you do. At least a little bit”

“Little bit” Melinda conceded. She honestly didn’t mind the coffee taste too much, but it was always surprising to her when it was the first thing she tasted in the morning. She took a sip of her green tea. “Better.”

“So, what’s our plan for today, other than making out and staring at each other?” Phil laughed, going back to the table to finish his coffee. Mel watched him as he sat down.

“That will be on the agenda, yes, but I was thinking we could play some card games together, go out boating, drink more wine…” Melinda licked her lips.

“This is going to be a good day,” Phil responded, taking the last sip of coffee and climbing back into bed with Melinda.

>>>

The weekend was over quickly, too quickly in Phil’s mind as they packed up Lola for the long drive home. He popped his hips, feeling the soreness from their sessions in bed. “Oooof, Melinda, you are insatiable. I don’t know how to keep up with you!”

Melinda grinned, “Yeah, too bad you weren’t like an electric car and we could just plug you in to recharge you for the hour.”

Phil rolled his eyes, Melinda could make anything into an innuendo. It was a good thing her coworkers hadn’t discovered this different side to Melinda. He couldn’t imagine Jimmy and Skye dealing with this type of talk.

“You mean like a robot? Do you want a robot husband, is that it?” Phil laughed turning on Lola.

“In an alternate universe, maybe. If that was the only way to be with you,” Melinda answered, laughing at the image of Phil being plugged in like a car.

“Are you thinking of certain parts being plugged in, Melinda, I know that look,” Phil responded, seeing Melinda’s face go flush.

“Sorry, still feeling all that wine we drank. Good thing you’re driving. I think I’m hungover and horny,” Melinda answered, taking a swig of ginger ale to clear her head.

“It’s okay, Melinda. Heh, just try to limit the sexy talk as I’m driving, I won’t be able to focus,” Phil said, feeling red himself as he imagined himself “plugging” into a charger.

The two made it back without anything more. Though, they did take a short break halfway in between for another make out session.

Melinda really was insatiable, Phil thought. He made her drive the rest of the way home, as his hips were screaming in soreness. One could only thrust so many times in a weekend.

Phil and Melinda made it back to their house, to see Lucy running into their arms and Skye looking a little disturbed.

“Skye, what’s wrong?” Melinda asked, knowing immediately that something had happened.

“A lot of things. But I think I know who my father is. And I have a confession to make,” Skye said as Phil and Melinda gave each other curious looks.

“Okay, Skye, tell us everything.”


	10. Long Lost Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melinda, Skye, and Jimmy try to find out if Dr. Cal Johnson could be Skye's long lost father. Skye finds out more information about her, her mom, and her father, but at a great cost.
> 
> [Angst warning]

Skye had let Phil and Melinda finish putting away their luggage before giving them the rundown of a very confusing and odd interaction she had with one Dr. Cal Johnson.

“First of all, Lucy is all checked out and okay, she just got a small bellyache from me accidentally giving her ice cream.” Skye began, with Phil looking down at Lucy and she just gave them all a tail wag and a happy bark.

“Okay, good to know, continue,” May said, picking up Lucy and setting her on her lap.

“So, anyways, Jimmy and I brought her to Dr. Johnson’s office. He did some tests, Lucy ended up being just fine after getting some medicine. But then, things got weird,” Skye was getting nervous, still wondering if it was all in her head, between the song and the photo.

“I don’t like where this is going,” Phil had the concern of a father in his tone.

“It’s not bad weird, but how do I explain this. When he was doing a blood test on Lucy, he sang a song to her to calm her down. I knew the song. Like it’s in my dreams. I told him about me knowing the song. He said, ‘that’s impossible, I made up that song and sang it to my baby daughter.’” Skye could still hear Cal’s voice in her head.

“Maybe it was just a similar song?” Phil offered.

“No. It was the same song. Then, I asked him if he had family because he had mentioned living by himself before, that’s why he was at the office late. He showed me a photo of him and his baby daughter. I…let me show you my baby photos. I quickly took a photo of it while Cal’s back was turned,” Skye showed them the baby photos, and they did appear to be the same person.

Melinda and Phil gave each other concerned looks, “This is definitely strange.”

“Then, I asked him what happened to her. He doesn’t remember much past 10 years or so. All he knows is that there was a car accident, his wife and daughter died, and he was in coma. But he doesn’t remember, and has some memory loss here and there,” Skye continued, now getting up and pacing.

“Melinda, can we run a file on Cal? At the FBI? All these sound like more than weird coincidences,” Phil got up and put his hand on Skye’s shoulder to calm her down.

Skye looked at her mentor’s soft blue eyes, and grabbed him in for a hug. It surprised him, but at the same time, he knew Skye needed someone to hold her. She began crying into his shoulder.

“I’m just so confused. Who am I? Who is Cal? Is he really my father? Are we closer to finding out who my parents are?” Skye didn’t realize she had so much pent up emotions from the weekend, and let them all come out onto Phil’s shoulder.

After several minutes, Skye released Phil from the hug and looked at his soaked shoulder, “Sorry, Phil.”

“Don’t apologize, Skye. We’re here for you. No matter what happens. If Cal is your dad, or if you find out more about who you are, who he is, remember, you always have a place here with us,” Phil said, wiping tears from Skye’s eyes.

It was May’s turn to stand up and give Skye a hug, “We’ll figure this out. As Phil said, we are here for you.”

The three grabbed some tissues and wiped their eyes from the tears. Even May had some tears in her eyes. Phil was right, they were both emotionally invested. There was no turning back. Skye was like a daughter to them, and they would solve this mystery.

>>>

The next day, Melinda and Skye made it to the office early, to start pulling from files, anything they had on Dr. Cal Johnson, his vet clinic, any contacts he may have. Jimmy came in with coffee for the three of them, flashing his friendly smile.

“This is exciting! Finally some leads to Skye’s family!” Jimmy said, making Skye smile slightly. Jimmy was a warm presence. And he was becoming a good friend.

“Thanks Jimmy for the latte,” Skye replied, taking a sip, and noting the delicious taste. Phil must have made this one, she could always tell, because he had a most excellent pour. Plus, Melinda’s matcha latte had a heart on it.

After several hours of calls, files, and interns bringing in packets of materials, Melinda finally found something.

“Finally. It’s a hospital report dating back 16 years. Cal Johnson, brought to hospital in a coma. Suspected car crash. Wife and daughter missing,” Melinda read the report outloud.

“This is weird, I’ve cross checked this with reports of missing persons of around that time, there’s nothing about an Asian toddler and female being missing,” Jimmy scratched his head. Surely if there was a car wreck and two missing people, there would be reports about it everywhere.

“So all we know is that Cal was in a car wreck, put in a coma, and his wife and daughter were reported missing by the hospital, but then this report must have been redacted?” Skye was even more confused now.

“You grew up in WitSec, right? So it’s possible they couldn’t report it, because you weren’t missing, but actually in witness protection,” Melinda realized. “The question is, were you in witness protection from your dad?”

Skye shook her head, “I don’t know. This is all insane. I think if I go talk to Cal, maybe, just maybe he’ll remember something. Show him my photos I have.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. While Cal may be a good guy now, we don’t know what he was like before the coma and memory loss,” Melinda cautioned, feeling nervous for Skye.

“We tried the witness protection route. My file was completely redacted, and the marshalls refuse to give us anything. This could be the only way. Maybe I can trigger his memory, somehow,” Skye grabbed her jacket and purse, and started out the door.

“I’m coming with, Skye. Jimmy, you stay here and keep digging into the files.” Melinda grabbed her leather jacket and aviators and started out the door with Skye.

Melinda and Skye made it to the vet clinic, to find Cal Johnson hastily locking the doors. “Dr. Johnson? Do you have a minute, FBI business.”

“Uh, I have something to get to, Agent May,” Cal said suspiciously, fumbling with his keys.

May grabbed his arm, “It can wait. Why don’t we have a chat.”

Cal nodded but then looked at Skye and gasped, “It is you, isn’t it. My daughter.”

Skye pursed her lips in response, feeling extremely nervous all of the sudden.

“I’m sorry, this is just. I had memory loss you see, and when Skye came into my clinic this past weekend, it brought back some memories,” Cal stumbled over his words.

“Why are you trying to get away from the clinic? Usually, you stay late hours,” May pondered, looking around to see if there were any other clues.

“Because, they will come for me. Because I remembered. They know when I remember, and if I remember too much,” Cal took another look at Skye, and started to shake and sweat.

“Your name is Daisy. It’s Daisy. Your mom was Jiayang. She died. She died in the crash. They came after us. But when I woke up you were both gone, I thought…” Cal began to shake even more, now collapsing on the ground.

May called Woo immediately, “We need medical, at Cal’s office, NOW.”

An ambulance came within minutes, and brought Cal up in the stretcher. “FBI Business, we are coming.” May said tersely to the EMT.

Cal woke up part way through the ambulance ride to the and mumbled some words while holding Skye’s hand, “They won’t let me live, Daisy. Now that I remember. I’m just glad you are safe. Don’t worry, they were only after me, not you.”

“He’s coding!” The EMT shoved Skye and Melinda out of the way.

Cal was dead before they reached the ER.

And as quick as Skye had found her father, he was gone.


	11. Devastation and Repair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye is dealing with the aftermath of seeing her father die before her eyes, Phil and Melinda comfort her.
> 
> Puppy Lucy finds something in the box of evidence that Melinda brings home, and the mystery of Cal Johnson begins to unravel.
> 
> Skye finally gets questions answered about who she is, who her mom is, and why her dad had to die.

Skye cried until she couldn’t cry anymore. She’d finally found her real father, started unraveling the mystery of her family, her parents, herself, and it ended as quickly as it had started.

Phil had to basically carry her from the hospital to the car and then to their couch. Skye was in such utter shock and devastation, that walking wasn’t even an option. Melinda had stayed at the hospital to file any reports, and to start the investigation and order an autopsy on Cal’s body.

Melinda knew that something in Cal’s body had been triggered to give him cardiac arrest and kill him. Whether it was a drug that got released, something in his brain, she didn’t know. The mystery wasn’t over, it was just starting. Melinda felt a twinge of guilt for not going back to the house with Phil and Skye, but she knew that closure was a huge part of healing. And if she could help Skye to get closure, to find out why Cal died, to find out why his memories were taken, to find out why Skye was alive, then she would do everything in her power to do so. Melinda noticed tears dropping to the case file and quickly wiped them away before Jimmy noticed.

Back at the house, Phil was making Skye a warm drink to calm herself. She’d been all cried out, and started shaking herself. Phil realized she needed something to drink and maybe a snack. He decided to start with a honey and ginger tea.

“Here, drink this Skye,” Phil replied, putting his arms around her.

“Thanks, Phil. I didn’t even know him. I don’t know why I’m crying so much,” Skye said, taking a sip of the tea and then setting it down.

“Doesn’t matter, really. My father died when I was young, and my mother when I had just become an adult. I don’t remember my dad much, but the ache is still there,” Phil had said, realizing that both him and Skye were now orphans, together.

“You miss them still?”

“Everyday.” Phil said. He did. He missed his parents. He regretted that they never got to meet Melinda. That they would never meet Skye.

Skye finished her tea and made herself eat a grilled cheese, Phil’s special recipe. “This is actually really good. Thanks, Phil.”

It wasn’t long before Skye had fallen asleep on the couch, and Phil put a blanket over her.

Melinda came home shortly after, with a load of evidence. Melinda and Jimmy had found some things of interest at Cal’s clinic, and brought them home to rifle through. Phil had told her to come in quietly. She set the box down, and looked at Skye, “How’s she doing?”

“Amazingly well, considering the circumstances. She’s a fighter. I can tell,” Phil whispered, still remembering when he was Skye’s age, and finding out his mom had died from the cancer she’d been battling. It wasn’t easy losing a parent, no matter the age, and no matter if you knew that that well or not.

Lucy had come into the room and was sniffing at the box that Mel had brought in. “What do you smell, girl? Is there tacos in there?” Phil joked, trying to bring some lightness in the room.

“Well, Cal was a vet, so maybe there’s something in here only dogs can smell. Let’s see, Lucy, what do you smell?” Melinda said, grabbing different items out of the box. One was a small container that was slightly bigger than a textbook. It didn’t seem have a seam or way to open, but Lucy kept getting more and more interested in the box. Finally, she licked it. It opened.

“What in the what?” Phil said, seeing a beat up journal inside the container.

“What’s going on?” Skye said blearily, waking up to the noise.

“Skye, oddly enough, Lucy has seemed to have found something. The opening was triggered by her licking this container, there’s a journal,” Phil grabbed the journal and gave it to Skye to look at.

She began to read.

“I’m losing my memories and my mind. So I must write these things down before it’s all gone.

To start, my name is Calvin Johnson, I have a wife named Jiayang and a daughter named Daisy.

It might sound crazy, and maybe it is, but Jiayang has a very special ability. She can heal at ten times the rate of a normal person, and even heal tissue that was previously dead. We have no idea how this happened or how she got these abilities. As a doctor, I wanted to study her blood, to see if we could synthesize what her cells do, to help many people.

It caught the attention of some corrupted scientists, who were only interested for money and the power it could give them.

We didn’t know they were corrupted at the time, of course, and we were stuck in this lab with them doing tests on Jiayang constantly. It began to wear on her body. Finally, when she got pregnant with Daisy, she told them she needed to take a break from tests.

They let her, for a time. Then, once Daisy was a toddler, they began to make her go into the lab again. After one particularly brutal test, I could see it was killing Jiayang. So we fled, we ran as far as we could, that’s when the car accident happened.

Everything is fuzzy from there. But Jiayang died, her body was already so weakened from the experiments. I was in a coma, and somehow Daisy had disappeared from the scene. Later, it was told that an FBI agent had found her, and after finding out these corrupt scientists were after us, they put her in witness protection.

I haven’t seen her since. I just have one photo of her. That’s it.

Later I received an email saying that if I ever tried to find my daughter, that they would kill me. They put a device in my brain, you see. Somehow they know if I see Daisy, it can run facial recognition through my eyes. Whoever these people were, are far and above any technology I have ever seen.

Daisy, Daisy, I hope you see this letter one day. Know that my mom and I love you so much. We had hoped to help many people with Jiayang’s blood, turned into a healing serum. I stole one vial of the serum once. I hid it, because I wanted to give it to you one day. One last memory of your mom.

Give it to somebody that needs healing. It works. Trust me. Have someone test it privately if you must, but I trust you’ll know when to use it and who for.

I’m sorry we never got to have a normal family, I’m sorry we never got to have ice cream dates or Christmases or lazy Saturday morning cartoons.

The people who did this, who ruined our lives, don’t go after them. They are powerful. Live your life quietly, and just enjoy it. Don’t make any waves. I have tried so hard to make sure that they don’t go after you, that you don’t have the same healing blood as Jiayang did. They went after me because I know who they are.

Stay the course, use this last piece of Jiayang. Remember us.

-Calvin, your father.

Skye noticed the vial now peaking out of the journal. “This is insane.”

The three were shell shocked, completely blown away by this story. There was no way to confirm it, but it does explain why Skye was hidden away, why Cal’s memory kept going in and out, and why Cal had tried so hard to leave town before Skye could talk to him more.

“I’m going to have FitzSimmons quietly investigate this vial, using their Sci-Tech lab. Maybe that will answer more questions,” Skye said, somehow feeling stronger knowing more of the story about her parents, about herself, and about her name.

“And I’m going to call myself Daisy from now on, in honor of my parents,” Daisy said, with Phil and Melinda nodding in agreement.

The rest of the night, Phil, Melinda, and now Daisy, took turns reading the journal again, searching for anymore clues. They stayed mostly silent, introspective, and Daisy tearing up more than once. Cuddles with Lucy helped.

Late in the night, Daisy stirred to find herself asleep in the couch, squished between Melinda and Phil, with Lucy sleeping on her lap.

She may have lost her dad that day, and lost her mom years ago, but she did have a new family. And even in the midst of all the pain and confusion her heart held, it also started to heal, started to see what life could be like now she found out who her parents were. She had new parents now, and while she would always mourn her biological parents, Daisy could hope for the first time in her life, that she could have a family.


	12. A Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy, Phil, and Melinda recruit FitzSimmons to help them solve the case of who was behind Cal's death, and Jiayang's death in the past.
> 
> Daisy makes a decision that may change the course of Phil and Melinda's life, forever. The healing serum gifted to her by Cal weighs heavy on her mind, especially knowing that Melinda's gunshot wound years ago has prevented her from having children. Could this serum heal Melinda? Would she take it?

Due to the sensitive nature of the letter, Melinda made sure to have Cal’s autopsy done discreetly. What she found confirmed the same information that Cal had implied. There was indeed a device implanted in his brain, connected to his optical nerve. Whoever implanted this could see what Cal saw. And when Daisy came into view and was revealed to be his daughter, they had killed him.

Melinda had told all this to Daisy and asked her about the serum as well, “Daisy, you have those two scientists friends at the SciTech Academy, right? Do you think they could take a look at this device and the serum? They need to do it off book.”

Daisy was still reeling from her father’s death, but also wanted to know the mystery behind it all. Despite Cal urging her not to go after these corrupt scientists, Daisy knew that they wouldn’t stop at Cal. For some reason, she knew that it was a possibility that she had special powers too. Maybe not healing powers, but something. She could feel it in her blood.

Phil was worried of course, the last thing he wanted was for May and Daisy to get in the radar of some very scary people. But he also knew them well enough to not question them. They could handle themselves, and also, Melinda and Daisy wouldn’t rest until they got closure on Daisy’s parents.

Daisy contacted FitzSimmons, who were shocked about the news. They also agreed to start calling her by Daisy, and said how lovely of a name it was. “Okay, they are coming here to get the device and serum, and results should be out in a few days.” Daisy told Phil and Melinda, still trying to hold back tears from the hard past few days.

“We’ll figure it all out, trust us,” Phil, ever the optimist, gave Daisy another hug.

>>>

FitzSimmons called Phil, Melinda, and Daisy into their secret lab. “How do you have access to this place?” Daisy asked, going underground for what seems like ages to get to the lab.

Fitz smiled proudly, “Well, Jemma and I wanted a place we could experiment without SHIELD oversight. Don’t give me that look Agent May. It’s because of our secret lab that we can investigate this mystery discreetly.”

May seemed very concerned about these two young geniuses having a lab unfettered, but at this point, she was willing to toe the line the figure this all out.

“So what have you found out about the device?” May asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this quickly.

Fitz tapped his computer and showed it on the display, “Made by a company called Cybertek. We actually worked with some of these scientists when we were in the Rising Tide. Very questionable practices, which is why we didn’t do much work with them.”

Simmons cut in, “They appear to be focused on rapid healing, combined with cybernetics. Basically they want to make their own super soldiers that can heal. Honestly, I think this is something to bring to SHIELD’s attention. They are the exact group to take down these sort of people. Fitz doesn’t agree.”

“I just don’t know enough to trust SHIELD, yet, despite going to the Academy,” Fitz said worriedly.

“You can trust SHIELD. My mom is in SHIELD, Phil’s mentor is in SHIELD. I nearly joined SHIELD, myself. We can contact Fury and my mom directly. Let them take it,” May replied, realizing all this cybernetic stuff was above her pay grade.

“Okay, if you say so, Agent May. Another thing, we studied the healing serum that Skye, I mean Daisy sent us. It works, we tested a bit on some lab rats, it healed scar tissue. No side effects. And as quickly as the serum heals, it absorbs into the body. Your DNA or cells aren’t changed. This is one thing we were concerned about. After testing, there’s really only one dose left. We could try to synthesize it, but it could take years or even decades of research.” Simmons said, showing a graphic of cells being healed.

“No, my dad said I should use the last of it for someone. In honor of my mom. These Cybertek people want this technology. But I don’t want to give it to them or risk them using if we tried to make our own serum. I…I have an idea for it. Um. Phil, Melinda, can I talk to you in private?” Daisy bit her lip. She’d been thinking about the serum for days. She knew how much Melinda had wanted kids, but the scar tissue was just too great. Could this serum heal her?

“First of all, I just want to say how amazing you two have been. Taking me on, and now going through all these hoops and danger just to solve this mystery. I’ve never had anyone treat me this way, with such care and compassion. And so, May, um, I want you to have the serum. It may very well heal your body so that you can have kids. You’re like a mom to me. And it would be a way, full circle, for my mom’s research and blood to be used in a beautiful way. A way for you to become a mom,” Daisy said, trying hard not to cry.

Melinda began tearing up immediately, “Daisy? What, of all people, you want me to have this? I…I don’t know what to say or do. Yes, I want children, but what if someone needs it more than me?”

Daisy put a hand on May’s shoulder, “This is my gift for you. My dad said to use it for someone that I really want. Think about it. If you don’t want to take it, I’m going to destroy it. I don’t want it to get into the hands of anyone else.”

Melinda gave a look at Phil, who said, “It is up to you, Melinda. This won’t change how I feel about you, or about us.”

Melinda gave Phil a kiss on the cheek and he wrapped her in a hug. She gave it a thought, “Yes. Yes I will take it. Let’s do it now, since we are here and FitzSimmons can monitor me.”

May had taken the time to call Agent Woo, to let him know that she was taking some personal days, alongside with Daisy. Woo said he would relay the information to her boss, who understood, given the nature of the events of the week. However, she did not mention that she was about to take an experimental healing serum.

“Okay, Agent May, we are going to have you lie down, and we are going to have you hooked up to check your vitals. Before I continue, are you absolutely sure you want to do this. We believe it is safe, but there are always risks,” Simmons cautioned as she got the serum into a needle.

“I’m ready. Somehow, I know and I trust that this will work. And I’m doing it for Daisy, for Cal, for Jiayang.” May replied, taking a deep breath as she prepared for the stab.

Phil and Daisy were each on the side of the medical bed, holding May’s hand. “We’re here sweetie,” Phil said, squeezing her hand firmly.

“I know.”

The serum worked almost immediately. Melinda was shocked, she could almost feel her body healing from all its previous injuries. Her knee felt less stiff, a scar on her arm went away, and then she knew, she knew her uterus was healed. “It worked. I know it, it worked.”

Simmons did an ultrasound to see, and determined the scar tissue was gone, same with her knee as well. “Amazing. I can’t believe it.”

As quickly as the serum had came, it fully absorbed in May’s blood. It did not appear she would have lasting healing powers, but of course, anything could happen. She looked over at Phil, “we have hope now.”

Daisy was crying. While her own parents had died, the fact that they were able to give new life to Melinda and Phil, was something that overwhelmed her in the best possible way. She knew that Melinda would always carry a part of Jiayang in her.

May stayed in the lab overnight to make sure that there were no issues. There weren’t. May felt an energy she hadn’t felt in many years, and when Simmons allowed her to leave the bed, May jumped on her knee in a way that she hadn’t been able to do in many years.

And then, with her organs healed, she could feel herself becoming fertile. And with it, the insatiable desire to procreate. She was itching to get home with Phil.

“Okay, May, you are all clear. Please let us know if you have any more problems. And of course, also, let us know, if you know, you become pregnant. We may want to monitor the baby and everything,” Simmons felt a bit embarrassed as she watched Phil and May look at each other with desire and passion.

Daisy noticed it too, “You know, um, I’m gonna catch dinner with FitzSimmons, they can take me back to my apartment so you and Phil can have some time to process all of this.” Daisy gave them a wink.

Phil and May left the secret lab with a new fervor, an excitement that May hadn’t felt in years. Yes, her and Phil have had a wonderful, fulfilling marriage. But May always had in the back of her head that she’d lost this chance. This chance to make Phil a father. A chance for herself to be a mother. Now there was that chance. And her loins were ready.


	13. Making Babies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just like the title of this chapter says, this is all about Melinda and Phil trying to get pregnant now that Melinda is healed. 
> 
> [Another spicy Philinda chapter complete with a surfing date]
> 
> I'm trying to wrap up this fic, I have a few more chapters, and I promise more Philindaisy moments before the end.
> 
> This chapter is just dedicated to Philinda getting it on.

“Are you sure you are up for this so soon after?” Phil asked cautiously as they drove back to their house.

Melinda gave him a look full of confidence, “Yes. Most definitely yes. Phil, I’m healed. And while that doesn’t guarantee that I can get pregnant, the fact that there’s hope that I can. Plus, I can tell, things are working down there.” Melinda spread her legs and pointed.

Phil gulped, “Uh, Mel, let’s get home before you start any undressing, I might get in a car wreck if…”

Melinda laughed, feeling energy and strength. Her mind felt clear, as if the serum had healed her mental trauma as well. “Alright, Philly.”

“Philly?” Phil gave her a look. She had never called him that. Her smile was radiant. Like they were in their 20s again.

“What’s wrong with Philly?”

“No, I like it. Can I call you Mellie?”

“No, that’s what my dad calls me. Mel is still good,” Melinda chuckled. She loved it when Phil called her Mel.

The two made it home finally after hitting some traffic. Melinda wasted no time in pouring strong glasses of their favorite Scotch whiskey. “Is that gonna be okay for trying to make a baby?” Phil wondered taking some sips and feeling still a bit cautious. The whiskey would calm his nerves. He didn’t know why he felt so nervous, he wanted to make Melinda pregnant so badly. What if they still couldn’t get pregnant?

“Phil, you know how many pregnancies were started because of drunken nights? I won’t drink once I get pregnant, yes, but that doesn’t mean I can’t drink while trying to get pregnant,” Melinda took a few sips herself, letting the alcohol go down her throat.

She closed the gap between them and slid her hands against his sides and pulled her hips into his.

“Wow, you really are ready, aren’t you,” Phil downed the rest of the whiskey, now feeling a bit more confident. It helped that Melinda was loosening his pants, taking off his belt…

“Should we move upstairs?” Phil suggested, as his pants were already down at his ankles.

“The couch is fine,” Mel said between kissing him and rubbing her hands down his body.

The two stumbled to the couch where they collapsed on each other. All caution thrown to the wind, Phil wanting to get in his wife as soon as possible. It didn’t take long, and the two were out of breath, after a good pounding on the couch.

Phil was thankful they had splurged a few years back to get a nice and wide couch. It was a good place to make love, especially on nights they couldn’t quite make it to the bedroom.

Melinda and Phil spooned on the couch, with Phil gliding his hands down her curves. “So, do you think this was it?”

Melinda gave him a grin, “Oh, I’m sure we’ll have to make love several times before I get pregnant. It might still take time for my body to get back on track again.”

Phil smiled himself, “Oh, I don’t mind that. Not one bit.” He sucked on her ear while they moved in sync.

Eventually Phil got tired out, Melinda was so full of energy, he couldn’t believe it. It’s like the healing serum healed all the sleep deprivation, the mental trauma, the knee, her uterus, and she became this fresh and new Melinda, not burdened down by years of trauma and injuries and anxiety. While she had always hid it well, he could always tell it behind her eyes.

But now, that was all gone. Just a fire, an excitement, new life in her eyes. “Sorry for exhausting you, Phil. It’s just, I haven’t felt like that since we first got married.”

“You don’t have to apologize Mel. If I can finish off every night being utterly exhausted because my wife wanted to hump me for hours, well, I can’t really complain,” Phil replied, finally getting up from the couch. “I need a snack though, then we should head to bed. If you want me to have any sort of energy in the morning.”

“Fair point. Good thing I took some personal days off,” Melinda said, grabbing a granola bar from the shelf.

“I still have to work, Mel, Ha. But you are more than welcome to hang at the coffee shop while I work. Hey, you should come surf with me tomorrow.” Phil said, excited to have Melinda take some time off. She so rarely did. Even on their weekend getaway, she’d only taken one work day off. It was so rare that she had time off and he didn’t. Phil didn’t care though, he loved the fact that Mel would be with him at the cafe the next day. Plus, early morning surf session would be fun.

>>>

Phil woke up early to prepare for the surf date with Mel. He found her wetsuit from storage and got to making coffee and tea for the morning. Melinda had been more tired than she realized and was sound asleep when Phil blew kisses on her bare back when he brought in her tea and toast.

“Oh is it morning already? So, we’re really going to surf?” Melinda said, getting up and drinking her tea.

“Sure, why not! It’s not like we can do…other activities. I mean, we could, but I need to recharge if we are trying to make this baby.” Phil laughed, knowing he couldn’t really do two in 12 hours, at least at his age.

“Alright. But I haven’t surfed in years. Small waves today?” Melinda said, not having much experience in surfing, but was excited to try it out more now that her knee was healed.

“Yup, I’ll bring to the surfrider beach. It’s not big waves today, and my friends will be out there too and will give you an assist if you need,” Phil said, as he finished his coffee and toast.

Lucy came running into the room at the mention of beach, “Yes, Lucy, you’ll come too. The Dawn Patrol puppy.”

“What about Daisy, should we have her come too?” Melinda said, not wanting Daisy to feel out of the loop.

“I’ll text her, but my guess is she’s still asleep. Otherwise, you and her can hang at the cafe today while I work, then we can all go out for dinner, sound good?” Phil replied, gathering the rest of the things they need for the surf date.

Phil, Melinda, and Lucy road in Lola with the surf boards on tow, to see a beautiful sunrise coming up over the hills. The dawn light shown on the ocean, the waves crashing, Mel had rarely been down to the ocean at sunrise, and she understood why Phil did it everyday. Maybe she would have to join him on the dawn surf before work more often, at least until she was too pregnant to surf.

They let Lucy chase seagulls while they waxed their surf boards. “Wonder what Lucy is going to think if there’s a new baby in the house in the next year.” Phil laughed, thinking of Lucy sniffing a baby.

“She’ll be great with kids. I know it. Wow, Phil. Look, we have gained a surrogate daughter, a puppy, and maybe a baby down the road. Our lives are changing so quickly,” Melinda became deep in thought.

“I know, I know. But let’s enjoy these moments while we can. Having a baby is going to completely change our lives,” Phil gave her a kiss and the two ran into the waves.

>>>

A month later, Mel found out she was pregnant.


	14. Liftoff and Touchdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May is pregnant! This chapter follows different points in Melinda's pregnancy and then the delivery and taking the baby home. 
> 
> Very fluffy Final Chapter of this fic!
> 
> LOTS OF PHILINDAISY FEELS + May's parents guest star.
> 
> [This is it! I know I didn't explore the Cybertek stuff, I wanted to get the focus back on Philindaisy, I may write a sequel to this, or a parallel fic that explores the mystery more]
> 
> I hope you all liked it! It was very fun to write, and I'm so happy to have gotten to write a more domestic Philinda and Daisy story.

Melinda found out she was pregnant after feeling nausea after attempting to drink a chai tea. It was then that she knew. She knew it had to be. Melinda was very aware of her body, and she knew that it was changing.

Phil had been at the cafe working the closing shift, and Melinda had gotten a chai tea on her way back from work She’d taken a few sips and instantly felt sick. It’d been five weeks since taking the serum, so she had to wonder. She’d debated about taking the pregnancy test by herself, but she knew Phil would want to be there.

He got home and she gave him a huge hug. “What is it, Mel?”

“I’m ready to take the pregnant test. I felt pretty off today, and couldn’t even finish that chai tea you gave me,” Melinda could feel the butterflies in her stomach, but she didn’t know if that was the pregnancy or nerves.

“Okay, Mel. Remember, whatever happens, I’m here.” Phil put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her beautiful brown eyes. She gazed into his soft blue ones, and nodded.

Melinda took the test and brought it out to show Phil, and they both waited for the digital readout.

As as the screen turned on, Phil and Melinda both held their breaths.

“PREGNANT”

Phil let out a woop and Melinda just stood there stunned. He grabbed her and swung her around in their bedroom, then set her down quickly, realizing she might still be feeling sick.

Thankfully she didn’t, and grabbed Phil by his collar and gave him a huge kiss. When they separated, they gave each other seductive looks and jumped into bed.

Afterward, Phil began tracing Mel’s bare stomach and whispered, “Hi, I’m your dad. I’m Phil. I love you.”

Melinda’s heart swelled and she stroked his hair. It had happened. She would have kids. Her and Phil would be parents. She’d finally get to see Phil holding their baby. Lucy came in running and jumped on the bed and sniffed Melinda’s stomach. She wagged her tail and barked in excitement.

“Lucy knows too now, I guess, smart puppy.” Phil smiled, imagining a little boy or girl running around with Lucy. It was going to be a very exciting time.

“We should tell Daisy. And FitzSimmons. And I’m obligated to tell the FBI because they’ll need to know to update the medical records. I’m nervous telling people though, at my age, the rate of miscarriage is higher…” Melinda gave a look of worry.

Phil sat up and stroked her hair. “Don’t say that. This baby is our miracle. And we’ll do everything we can to ensure a heathy pregnancy.”

Melinda gave her husband another kiss, and then fell asleep shortly after. Growing a baby was tiring.

The next morning, Melinda called Daisy to have her come to the house before work. As she opened the front door, Mel couldn’t contain a smile. So Daisy knew right away, “Is that smile because? Are you?”

“Yes. We’re pregnant. Daisy, I can’t thank you enough for what you did. For giving the serum to me. I just…” Melinda burst out into tears, which was very uncharacteristic of May, but pregnancy hormones were in full force.

“Aww, May. You deserve it. More than anyone, you deserve this life. I’m just happy I could help,” Daisy grabbed May into a hug. “So, is the kid gonna call me Auntie Daisy? Or Sister Daisy? or CI Daisy?”

“Whatever you want them to call you. Daisy, you’re like our own daughter, I hope you know that. We very much hope you continue to be part of our lives, even when you are done with your sentence.” Phil said, giving both Daisy and Melinda a nice cup of green ginger tea.

“Of course, dad! I mean, Phil.” Daisy said, but then looked embarrassed. Phil beamed at being called dad.

“Dais, you can call us mom and dad if you want.” Melinda said, sipping the tea and letting it soothe her stomach. “Just maybe not at the office.”

“Haha, deal.”

>>>

Melinda finally had an ultrasound and made a discovery, she was having twins.

And later, she found out, they were a boy and a girl. Melinda felt unprepared to have two newborns in the house, but at the same time, being blessed with two kids, who would grow up together, was the best thing she could wish for.

The months flew by, and Melinda’s belly was beginning to show fairly quickly. Phil fell more in love with Melinda every day.

While Melinda felt sweaty and bloated as the days went by and as the Los Angeles weather turned hot, Phil just told her it was her pregnancy glow and gave her kisses whenever she was home.

“You’re so beautiful, Melinda,” Phil said one morning as she got out of bed. She was getting to the hard to maneuver stage, and Phil helped her stand.

“I just wish we hadn’t decided to get pregnant where I would be delivering in the heat of summer. Has LA always been this hot?” Melinda complained, spraying some water on herself in the bathroom.

“Yes, but you were always in an air conditioned office or van. And me, I’ve either been surfing or at the air conditioned cafe. So we haven’t really noticed it.” Phil had noticed their electricity bill had gone up since Melinda liked to keep the temperature at 60 degrees.

“True. Remember, we have our class tonight.” Melinda reminded him, things were getting real. Between the breathing classes, the doctor’s appointments, and an upcoming baby shower with her friends, life was changing so quickly.

“I won’t miss it. PhilDad Coulson is ready for anything” Phil flexed his muscles while Melinda rolled her eyes.

>>>

The day came. Melinda and Phil welcomed their twins, both beautiful and healthy.

Daisy had met them at the hospital as soon as she’d heard Melinda was in labor.

“Come on, what are their names?” Daisy looked impatient. Melinda and Phil had kept the names a secret, even to Daisy.

Melinda and Phil each held a baby, and Melinda proudly said, “Our baby boy is Calvin Phillip May-Coulson and our baby girl is Jiayang Daisy May-Coulson.”

Daisy began to cry. Melinda and Phil had named their twins after her parents. Jiayang and Calvin are the reason that Melinda was able to heal, so it made sense. But it was still amazing. And the fact that Melinda put Daisy as the girl’s middle name.

“I…Oh…Melinda. Phil. Mom. Dad. You are amazing. Your babies are amazing. I love you so much.” Daisy took Jiayang into her arms. “She’s beautiful.”

After a time, Daisy switched and held Calvin, “Hey there baby Cal. Welcome to the planet.”

FitzSimmons, Agent Woo, and a few others visited the family throughout the next few days, until Melinda was discharged from the hospital. May’s parents had prepped the house, and were waiting with Melinda’s favorite meal in the oven.

Lian and William May each took a baby into their arms, smiling proudly. They also looked over at Daisy. “Now we have three grandchildren.”

Daisy smiled shyly, it was the first time she’d met May’s parents.

“Oh, thank you, Mr. and Mrs. May,” Daisy couldn’t believe that May’s parents were even considering her part of the family.

Melinda and Phil looked at the scene as they rested on the couch. May’s parents taking turns holding the twins, Daisy making tea for everyone, and Lucy running around between both twins in excitement. The family they always wanted, and the family they never thought they could have, were all here. Daisy’s parents would live in on their twins, and Daisy would be a proud older sister that she’d always wanted to be.

And while the mystery of Cybertek was still to be solved, that was a problem for SHIELD.

Right now, Melinda and Phil were content. And nothing else mattered.


End file.
